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( fish of the soul )
GRASPING THE CONCEPT of ilu riding came easier to you and your sisters than it did to your brothers, and the three of you made sure to poke fun at their failed attempts of riding from your own sea-coasting companions.
after a few days of practicing and sculpting out your technique through the water, the reef teenagers had decided to bring three of you out to an isolated section of the island, tasked with extending the longevity of your breathing abilities.
the six of you sat together in a circle, aonung and your youngest sister missing from the group as you situated yourself beside tsireya, who had kiri on her right while lo'ak sat on your left.
"breathe in," she instructed, inhaling sharply through her mouth as rotxo did the same, their arms coming to rest on their chests and stomachs in an effort to demonstrate where the air was residing, "and breathe out, imagine flickering a flame."
her gaze traveled over toward you as you sucked in a breath, exhaling slowly through your pursed lips with closed eyes. "you must slow down your heartbeat."
suddenly, the warmth of what seemed like someone's hands met the skin of your stomach and the area above your chest. opening your eyes, you almost coughed at the sight of tsireya's fingers over your torso, her eyes trailing over your slowly rising and falling upper body before landing on your face.
"breathe in," she instructed as you tore your gaze away from her turquoise irises and focused on the coastline ahead of you, filling your body with oxygen. "breathe from down here, breathe out slowly."
you could feel the rate of your heart pick up ever-so-slightly and you cursed internally, wondering why the feeling over her hands over your middle stirred up your feelings so intensely.
a call of your name gently left the girl's lips as she looked between the placement of her hands and your eyes. "your heartbeat is a fast."
"sorry," you lowly spoke, avoiding the confused glances of your siblings as you tried to get the pounding muscle under control.
lo'ak eyed you from the side, the smallest hint of a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips as he looked over at neteyam, who widened his eyes at the silent message and grinned slightly.
"try to slow it down, focus," tsireya continued, leading you to nod and softly clear your throat before inhaling once again. "breathe in... and breathe out."
